Contour supporting molded garment hanger



Get. 23, 1962 M. D. HENRY CONTOUR SUPPORTING MOLDED GARMENT HANGER Filed Oct. 11, 1960 I INVENTOR lMQlr bz/DJE' ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,059,824 Patented Oct. 23, 1962 3,059,824 CONTOUR SUPPORTING MOLDED GARMENT HANGER Melvin D. Henry, 3404 Farhill Circle, Birmingham 13, Ala. Filed Oct. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 62,029 1 Claim. (Cl. 223-88) The present invention relates to a contour supporting molded garment hanger and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Generally there is provided a delta-shaped one piece wire frame from the apex of which extends a hook defining portion. The shank of the hook portion may be reinforced by intertwisting therewith the other end of the frame wire in known manner, or the said other end may terminate as a small hook embracing the base of the shank held against displacement by the body of the hanger. The hanger body is molded around the wire frame (excepting the hook portion thereof) and consists of any suitable strong and lightweight plastic material, such as expanded polystyrene. The configuration of the hanger and the cross sectional contours of the elements are of such shape and width as to support the neck and shoulder portions of garments in natural and non-distorting positions, and the cross bar is of such diameter as to insure against creasing a garment hung thereover.

The plastic material may be of any density within wide limits, depending upon the strength desired in the finished article which, in turn, may be dependent upon such factors as cost balanced against single or repeated uses expected for the hanger. The material can be made in a wide variety of attractive colors. The material is also non-absorptive to moisture and inert chemically, to prevent injury to or discoloration of garments hung thereon. The surface is desirably crinkled and/ or ribbed to prevent undesired garment displacement, and the surface texture is sufficiently smooth to insure against injury to even the finest of fabrics. The molded material is of such texture and resilient penetrability that garments can be easily fixed thereto by sticking pins through the garment and into the material.

It is accordingly among the objects of this invention to provide a molded-plastic garment hanger that is designed to support garments in such a manner as to pre vent creasing of the garments; is designed to fit the shoulder contour of the garment and thereby hold it in its original shape; has inherent surface characteristics that will prevent the garment from slipping; is made of a material which will receive and rigidly hold any type pin which may be used to secure a garment to the hanger; is made of a material which can be produced in solid or variegated color; is made of a material which is completely inert, impervious to water and designed to support damp fabrics; is made of a material with inherent surfaces smoothness and characteristics which will not cause damage to the most fragile fabric; is made of expanded polystyrene designed to give maximum support to any garment, either when reinforced or when molded at a density sufiiciently strong to eliminate the need for reinforcing; has a neck piece designed to the contour of any type garment so as to assist in retaining the garment in its original shape and to prevent wear and soiling of the garment on the folded edge of the neck; has a horizontal bar designed with large radii to prevent creasing of the garment draped thereover; has a horizontal bar with sufficient rigidity to prevent the bar from sagging and creasing the garment in this manner; has large radii and large garment bearing surfaces to prevent stretching or pulling of fabric caused by the weight of the garment; and employs a combination metal hook and reinforcing members of the same material which are one continuous piece of metal so bent that it does not require the wires to be twisted together.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the hanger of FIGURE 1 in vertical medial section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of the invention,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the disclosure of FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing a modification of the wire frame in the neck region thereof.

'With reference now to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawing, the numeral 10 generally designates the hanger as a whole. Hanger 10 comprises a conventionally shaped wire garment hanger employed as a reinforcing frame 11 for the hanger 10. Frame 11 has a longtiudinally disposed base bar 12, upwardly and inwardly extending reaches 13 and 14 bent horizontally and then upwardly at 15 and 16, and twisted together at 17, where either one of said reaches terminates while the other continues upwardly and is bent to define a support rod engaging hook 18.

The numeral 19 generally designates the molded body of the hanger. The body 19 may be formed of expanded polystyrene or other suitable lightweight and strong, moisture impervious materials having the advantages and characteristics enumerated above. Body 19 has a base portion 20 providing a relatively wide, large radius upper surface over which a garment, such as a pair of trousers, can be draped without producing the objectionable crease at the fold that conventional wire hangers make.

FIGURE 1 also illustrates an important use feature of the present invention, in showing a skirt (shown in phantom) hung from the hanger 10 by pins 22 passing through the waistband 23 thereof. The waistband 23 can be pinned fiat against the face of base portion 20 or can be folded over the base portion so that each pin 22 will engage the waistband on both sides of the hanger base 20.

The side frame elements 13 and 14 are covered by body portions 24 and 24a, respectively. Portions 24 and 24a are of enlarged cross sections at their lower and outer ends to provide better shoulder support for a garment supported on the hanger.

The neck portion 25 of the hanger body is greatly enlarged and is contoured as shown to maintain the shape of the supported garment. One or both of the relatively flat front and rear faces of neck portion 25 may conveniently carry advertising matter schematically represented by XYCo. in FIGURE 1, which matter can be molded or printed thereon, or be carried by a label or plate cemented or otherwise attached thereto on the surface or in a molded depression therein.

Hook 18 and the twisted shank 17 are desirably coated (as by dipping or otherwise) with a plastic material 26, which may be of the type commonly used to insulate electric conductors. Coating 26 improves the appearance of the hanger, protects it against corrosion, increases its frictional grip on supporting rods and protects the supporting rods from surface abrasion. Coating 26 may be of any color, matching that of body 19 or contrasting therewith.

It should be here noted that the frame 11 can be greatly varied in the extent thereof and in the gauge of its elements, depending upon the density, strength and rigidity of the plastic frame embracing material. Thus frame 11 could be of any desired gauge material, becoming smaller as the strength of the material of body 19 increases. Frame 11 could consist of only the hook 18, which could then terminate in the neck portion, or frame 11 could extend part way along portions 24 and 24a or could terminate part way inwardly in the base portion, all as desired. Such latter constructions would make possible doubling the wire at the end of hook 1 1 for obvious ad vantages, such as increased strength, a smooth hook end and the protective embedding of the wire ends in portions of the body 19.

In the modification of FIGURES 3 and 4 the frame 31 is covered by a molded-on body 32 of expanded plastic. However, in this species transverse ribs 33 are molded onto the tips of the garment shoulder supporting portions of the hanger 30 to more securely retain the garment in proper position thereon, if it should be decided that the crinkled (large granular) texture of the expanded plastic material, as indicated at 27 in FIGURE 1, does not give as much frictional retention of the garment as is desired.

In the modification of FIGURE the wire frame 51 of the hanger '50 omits the twisted wire construction 17 of the FIGURE 2 species and substitutes therefor the simpler hook 52 embracing the bend 53 in frame 51. The neck portion 54 of body 55 holds the hook 52 against unhooking or sliding displacement. The hook 56 and its coated-on covering 57 correspond to their counterparts 18 and 26, respectively in the species of FIGURE 2.

It is also contemplated that the hook 52 could be welded, soldered, brazed, cemented or crimped, etc., to the frame 51 at or adjacent the bend 53. Or, if preferred, the hook 52 could be omitted and the wire end could be welded to frame 51 at or adjacent bend 53, or be fixed thereto in the manners suggested for fixing hook 52 thereto.

While but certain forms of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many minor modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A garment hanger comprising a horizontally disposed base bar, a pair of inwardly and upwardly angled garment shoulder supporting bars rigidly integrally joined at their lower ends to the ends of said base bar and at their upper ends to each other to define a substantially isosceles triangular frame, a circumferentially continuous relatively flexible reinforcing wire of relatively small gauge embedded in said frame, and a hook member integrally connected to and rising upwardly from the apex of said frame, said frame bars being relatively rigid large diameter bodies of molded expanded granular polystyrene for providing shape sustaining and relatively non-creasing support of garment portions engaged thereover, said granular polystyrene providing a crinkled surface for better frictional retent of a garment in desired position thereon, the surface texture of the granules of said expanded granular polystyrene being smooth to prevent damage to delicate fabrics, and said expanded granular polystyrene being resiliently penetrable by common straight pins whereby a garment can be pinned to said hanger Without any garment creasing draping of the garment over said hanger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,721,543 Chubb July 23, 1929 1,824,138. Heimann Sept. 2-2, 1931 2,819,829 Gensmer et a1. Jan. 14, 1958 2,878,978 Glowka Mar. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,128,685 France Aug. 27, 1956 

